Replacing GBE PHY

[029676269]

We are linux embedded team.

We working with '88E1111' GBE PHY at the evaluation board "Spartan-6 FPGA SP605 Evaluation Kit".

We want to create a new board with '88E1119RA0-NNW2C000' GBE PHY.

According to your expirience:

What are the implications of that trasfer?

e.g. Technical issues, project time etc'

Thanks,

Lior

[joelby]

The main complaint I've heard with the Marvell parts is that it's nearly impossible to get the datasheets. You have to sign an NDA before they'll give you access to their site. I've been waiting for over six months and have had one or two unhelpful, canned responses and been ignored completely by the local distributor, but at least got some sympathy from Digilent.

In the end I managed to figure out the registers I needed to set by studying various code examples. If the 88E1119 isn't as common as the 88E1111 and it's significantly different, this might be a challenge. It looks like Linux might already have some support for the 88E1119, though.

If you've already got a good relationship with Marvell, then disregard this advice unless you're hoping to make and sell a development board - in which case, please spare your poor customers the pain of having to organise their own NDA and use something else.

Hopefully someone who has built their own stuff using these parts will have comments on your other queries.

[eteam00]

If you are creating a new board, and you have a choice of (many) GbE PHYs, make sure you select a PHY device from whom you are able to obtain a datasheet.  Broadcom and Marvell are notorious for turning their noses at small or new customers and small volume (less than 100K/year) accounts.

There are lots of good GbE PHY devices on the market.  You have leverage with the manufacturers until you are locked in to their component.  Use your pre-sales leverage, and choose wisely.

-- Bob Elkind